Adrian Hayes Speaker | Well-being & Mental Health & Adventure

Adrian Hayes

Record-breaking polar explorer & adventurer, author, keynote speaker, business coach, documentary presenter and campaigner.

Watch Adrian in action here

An Arabic and Nepalese speaking former British Army Gurkha Officer and Special Forces soldier, Adrian Hayes has conquered Everest, K2, the North and South Poles, the length of Greenland by kite-ski and the Arabian Desert by camel amidst a lifetime of adventure, setting two Guinness World Records, writing two books, and featuring in three documentaries to date.

His first Guinness world record was for reaching the ‘three poles’ of the Earth – trekking from the coast to the North pole, South Pole and summiting Everest – in the shortest period of time in history. His second world record, along with two Canadian team mates, was for the longest unsupported journey in Arctic history (kite assisted) on their 3120 km Greenland vertical crossing.

One of the few extreme adventurers in the world with a senior corporate background, including seven years as the Airbus Middle East Sales Director based in Toulouse, France and Dubai UAE, Adrian is now an internationally acclaimed keynote/motivational speaker and professional leadership, team and executive consultant & coach, delivering speeches, seminars and programs worldwide.

He also regularly gives presentations to schools, colleges and universities wherever his work takes him, either motivational speeches or longer leadership development seminars. In these programmes he aims to both inspire but also impart some concrete learning, lessons, tools and techniques gained from his unique, varied and vast experience that students can use in their own lives.

A passionate lifetime follower of international affairs and an ambassador on economic, social & environmental sustainability, he is also a patron or member of several organisations and charities, speaking, writing and campaigning on a number of contemporary world issues. As a former qualified Paramedic and Nepalese speaker, he is also involved in an ongoing project providing medical assistance in the remote areas of Nepal.

Adrian has featured in three documentaries to date:The Greenland Quest in 2011 for the National Geographic Channel; Footsteps of Thesiger in 2013 and In Inner Mongolia in 2017 for the Discovery Channel, and is now an establishing television and documentary presenter. His first book, Footsteps of Thesiger, was published in 2013, and details his 44-day journey across the Arabian Desert. His second book, One Man’s Climb: A Journey of Trauma, Tragedy and Triumph on K2, detailing his personal experience climbing the world’s notorious second highest mountain, was published in 2019.

His third book, a book on human development, will be released in 2022.

Testimonials from Teachers

"We enjoyed having Adrian down - he certainly was an inspirational character! His assembly slides,and talks with the students were great! Overall, a great speaker, and a great event at Wildern, so we were very happy"

– Mr J Collings, Careers and Personal Development, Wildern School

"The event went really well and the feed back from parents was excellent. Thank you very much, as always, for your help."

– Mrs Lesley Gundersen, Registrar, Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School

“Adrian Hayes is nothing short of an inspiration. His talks draw on experiences that few other people on earth will have enjoyed or endured. His lively and engaging presentations are underpinned by messages and values that all young people can learn great deal from. I would wholeheartedly recommend Adrian to other schools”

– Nick Eatough, Deputy Head, Marlborough College

“Adrian Hayes is an engaging and inspirational speaker. He connects effortlessly with a diverse range of people through his amazing experiences as a professional adventurer and skilfully uses these to highlight key business themes such as team building and leadership development, drawing on his considerable professional knowledge in the field. His stories and anecdotes pull no punches. They are often simultaneously funny and tragic, but above all, they are accounts of human endeavour that move his audiences and ultimately leave them with the belief that they too can achieve beyond their normal zone of comfort”

– Adrian Mateo, MBA Programme Director, University of Nottingham

“Many thanks for braving Hong Kong's heat and humidity to come and talk to our students at South Island School yesterday. I have had so much great feedback from both staff and students and everyone took some valuable and important lessons away with them as well as hearing about a terrific adventure about your exploits on K2”

– Andy Morris, DofE and CAS Coordinator, South Island School, Hong Kong

Adrian was brilliant. He was really engaging and the children were very excited to hear from him. We’d love to have him back in real life in the future!

– Nicky Black, Head of the Junior School, Cokethorpe School

"Adrian was absolutely brilliant! His inspiring talk last week, was excellent, and I know all the children enjoyed it and learnt so much from it. They were fascinated listening to his stories and the advice you gave them priceless. We are all thankful that could join us, and we wish him luck with his next adventure."

– Rob Dilworth, Co-curriculum Lead, Highfield School